Find Your Adventure

Adventure Travel

February 21, 2012

Photograph by Murfy Kristiadi, My ShotWhen it comes to hiking lighter, we get our advice from the guy so serious about going fast and light that he uses a catfood can for a cooking stove—the master himself, Andrew Skurka. Skurka, our 2008 Adventurer of the Year, has covered more than 30,000 miles of long-distance trails, including the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide. Here Skurka shares nine skills you can learn right now to safely carry less and lighter gear on your next trip. These kinds of tips, plus much more, are covered in his comprehensive new book The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide(National Geographic Books), which comes out later this month. You can pre-order a signed copy from Andrew here.

Ultrahiker Andrew Skurka's Nine Skills to Help You Pack Lighter

1. Assess your true needs. Where, when, and for how long you are going are the primary determinants of the conditions you will encounter. Research the temperatures, precipitation, sun exposure, water availability, snow coverage, hours of daylight, bugs, wildlife, and remoteness you will encounter. If you know the conditions you can realistically expect, you can pack accordingly. Uninformed backpackers justify poor gear choices on the grounds of unfounded “What if...” and “Just in case...” scenarios.

February 17, 2012

It seems like down jackets have been around about as long as geese. But in fact, the first commerical down jackets were made by Eddie Bauer back in 1936. By 1963, the company was keeping mountaineers such as Jim Whittaker and his expedition team warm as they made the first American ascent on Everest.

Roll 50 years a head and down jackets are better than ever. Case in point, the First Ascent BC MicroTherm sold out in three weeks this year. The jacket takes the joy of an 800-fill, cozy-but-not-hot down shirt and adds a waterproof breathable two-layer softshell. It's super light (just one pound), but very warm, even in Himalaya and Antarctic conditions. “A lightweight, high-performance piece that keeps me warm and dry on cold, windy and wet days. You don’t generally want to be out in those conditions, but sometimes the mountains have other ideas. This jacket was made for those days,” says mountain guide Melissa Arnot. For those of us who conquer our own mountains a little closer to home, it's one jacket that goes everywhere. And its slim fit is figure flattering without limiting mobility. —Mary Anne Potts

On his way up the Compressor Route on Patagonia’s formidable Cerro Torre last month, Austrian climber David Lama was surprised to run into Jason Kruk and Hayden Kennedy (read our indepth report on the controversial climb) on their way down, chopping bolts as they went. Their encounter was reported to be a bit chilly. After all, it would seem that Kruk and Kennedy’s chopping unintentionally sandbagged Lama.

For the past three years, the twenty-one-year-old has been trying to make the first true free ascent of the southeast ridge. On January 21, 2012, he and climbing partner Peter Ortner finished the climb, despite “the fact that Hayden and Jason had chopped Maestri’s bolts a couple of days ago.” Lama said it “made my endeavor even more challenging, especially mentally, as the protection was poor.” The absence of bolts forced Lama into “long run outs.” He rated his challenging climb 5.13b. Kruk and Kennedy pegged their own mostly free route at 5.11, A2.

On January 16, 2012, mountaineering history was made. The actors in the drama were two of the best young alpinists alive—a 21-year-old Coloradan, Hayden Kennedy, and a 24-year-old from British Columbia, Jason Kruk. Their deed took place on a savagely steep needle of granite and rime ice in southern Patagonia called Cerro Torre. Kennedy and Kruk knew that what they were trying to do was audacious in the extreme, but they could hardly have anticipated that it would trigger the most explosive mountaineering controversy of the last decade.

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Although it rises to an altitude of only 10,262 feet, Cerro Torre has been called the most beautiful mountain on earth, as well as one of the most difficult. On the border of Chile and Argentina, the peak soars nearly 5,000 feet from base to summit. The indomitable French mountaineer Lionel Terray, who made the first ascent of nearby Fitz Roy, doubted that Cerro Torre would ever be climbed. The greatest Italian climber of his day, Walter Bonatti, failed on an attempt less than halfway to the summit in 1958.

Then in 1959, Bonatti’s bitter rival, Cesare Maestri, came to Patagonia to slay the dragon via its north face. His climbing companions were his fellow Italian, Cesarino Fava, and the Austrian Toni Egger, one of the outstanding ice climbers of his day. The three set out on their attempt and reached a gunsight notch that they named “The Col of Conquest,” 1,800 feet below the summit. Having agreed to act in only a supporting role, Fava retreated alone down to Camp 3. Maestri and Egger prepared an attack on the summit. Fava settled in to wait. After three days, gusts of warm air melted the ice near the top of the mountain and set loose colossal avalanches. After three more days without any sign of his climbing partners, Fava assumed the worst. On the sixth day, to his shock and surprise, Fava discovered Maestri, sprawled and helpless in the snow, a thousand feet from Camp 3.

Maestri had an extraordinary story to tell. After three bivouacs above the Col of Conquest, he and Egger had reached the summit of the mountain that Terray deemed impossible. But on the descent, an avalanche had caught Egger in mid-rappel and swept both him and the climbing rope off the mountain. With a desperate effort, Maestri regained the fixed ropes below the Col of Conquest. But just above Camp 3, he lost his grasp and fell. When Fava found him, he was barely conscious. Fava helped his exhausted teammate stagger the rest of the way down to base camp. With Egger, Maestri claimed, had gone the men’s camera, carrying the only documentary proof of the men’s landmark ascent.

Back in Italy, Maestri recuperated fully and boasted about his amazing climb. At first, the climbing world accepted Maestri’s account and showered the exploit with accolades. Lionel Terray called the first ascent of Cerro Torre “the greatest climbing feat of all time.” But doubts soon emerged. How had Maestri and Egger climbed so skillfully, especially given the horrendous weather? The sheer steepness of the final stretch above the Col of Conquest made the wall look unclimbable, even by the finest mountaineers of the day.

Once a pioneer of clean solo climbing, Maestri turned after Cerro Torre to a new style—bolting everything he touched—that only served to undercut his claim. After a crack British team failed even to come close to making the second ascent of Cerro Torre in 1968, the doubters came clamoring.

Today, Maestri’s 1959 “ascent” of Cerro Torre is widely regarded as one of the most blatant hoaxes in mountaineering history.

January 27, 2012

"From day one, the women have been screaming and yelling, 'Where’s our stuff?' And we’ve taken notice," said Jeremy Jones, who we recently interviewed about his snowsports alliance Protect Our Winters (POW) (follow POW on Facebook for informing and entertaining posts). "It’s really common to see a lot of women in the backcountry freeriding," he noted. "Women don’t have the as much as of a need to be in the park learning a new trick like a lot of men do. Women are much more comfortable with cruising the whole mountain and enjoying that aspect of snowboarding."

Thanks for noticing, Jeremy.

In fall 2012, Jones Snowboards will release three women's boards, including one splitboard, the Solution. It probably goes without saying that the construction and materials are identical to their men's boards, but the sidecut, flex, length, and waist width have been tuned to benefit a lighter, smaller rider.

We admit, the Solution's Arctic Ocean map design drew us in like a magnet at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City last week. Made for the complete big-mountain, trail-breaking backcountry experience, the early rise tip and tail will float on top even on the deepest powder days. Meanwhile the Mallow Magna traction on the inner and outer edges will keep you in control even on ice. It's identical to the Mothership, just split. Retailing for about $800, the Solution quickly pays for itself since you won't be buying a lift ticket.

Jones Snowboards will have three women's boards are the Mothership, Solution, and Twin Sister this fall. Roxy and Gnu will also have new ladies splitboards.

January 26, 2012

It was a slow start to winter for resorts in the U.S. In order to find snow in the early season, for many passionate skiers, it meant getting creative.

Based out of the Wasatch this season, due to drier conditions, I decided to drive north for four to Jackson, Wyoming, to poke around the Tetons for a few days. Jackson temporarily offered more promise with snow depths that prevailed over many other locations in the West. After some great days skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, it was time to go exploring for some fresh snow in Grand Teton National Park.

With soaring peaks, protected canyons, and endless terrain possibilities, the park holds great promise for adventure. The 40-mile-long Teton Range is the youngest mountain chain in the Rocky Mountains with beautiful, jagged summits and long, aesthetic runs. This is a bountiful area for backcountry skiers.

Luckily, I was able to meet up with some expert local friends who accompanied me on a few fun backcountry ski tours. Steve Romeo, professional skier and www.TetonAt.com honcho, and Greg von Doersten, professional adventure photographer, both had time for some missions in the park.

Our team encountered a variety of conditions on our adventures with cold temps (-20F), big winds (50 mph+ gusts), and changing visibility, but we did find great snow on each excursion and that made the journey worthwhile. We skied lines off of three different high peaks: Teewinot, the Grand Teton, and Cloudveil Dome. Averaging roughly six to eight hours per route, we invested good energy in getting up high to scout out the best options for descent.

The first adventure took us to Teewinot Peak, which at 12,325 feet is the sixth highest peak in the range. The name of the mountain is derived from the Shoshone Native American word that means "many pinnacles." With a 6 a.m. start, after climbing close to 5,500 feet, we dropped into its southeast couloir for some soft, silky turns down to the lower apron. The remainder of the ski we were gliding through fresh powder to the valley floor.

January 24, 2012

The zodiac, your horoscope, tea leaves...people have been trying to make sense of human attributes since the dawn of dirt. Corporations pay big money to navigate these muddied waters and will train employees to better understand personality types to harness them for productivity. I recently revisited one such matrix, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which hypothesizes that it’s possible to distill human characteristics into 16 personality types. David Keirsey later mapped these types into four general temperaments: the Artisan, Rational, Guardian and Idealist.

I jokingly wondered if these metrics have ever been applied to an expedition setting; exhaustion, hunger, and cold, wet conditions can quickly strip insulate layers of city life, exposing our reptilian ids. What may seems like "character" over coffee can reveal itself in spades below the crux. I began to contemplate my past adventures and consider what I could glean from temperament theory to apply toward my own trips. Here’s what I found. Keep reading for discussions with ultrahiker Andrew Skurka, mountain biker Rebecca Rusch, and veteran adventure racer Michael Tobin about their "types."

As I head to the 2012 Winter Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, where NOLS is receiving an Outdoor Inspiration Award for inspiring youth everywhere to pursue an education through a NOLS adventure, I am pondering what “adventure” really means, and what makes someone an “adventurer.”

When you think of “adventurer,” what do you picture? Me? I admit, I think of the image of a rugged leathery-faced mountain man in an old-timey wool cable-knit sweater, pocketed vest, and a canvas satchel replete with important adventure tools like a sextant, a treasure map, and a pistol. Clint Eastwood maybe? Or Harrison Ford? Oh, and he’s smoking a pipe.

What I don’t picture is the photo above. Yeah, that’s me on an adventure—35 days in the Wind River Range with NOLS. And I am pretty much the opposite of Clint Eastwood. I’m not leathery faced, although with age and exposure to the elements I’m definitely headed that way. But more important, I’m not white. And I’m not a man.

January 18, 2012

When you are skiing powder in Canada’s Selkirk mountain range, Research and Development is a very good job. Companies often want to see how their prototype product works in the field, so somebody’s got to do it.

In the sports realm, team athletes are often called upon to use and critique their gear for feedback, improvement, and development. This was the case for skiers Chris Rubens, Elyse Saugstad and I in the Selkirks this past March 2011. Our mission was to put Salomon Freeski’s new ski binding with touring capability to the test. After two weeks of hammering it in the big mountains, we were thrilled with the performance of “the Guardian."